Robertson, Oscar

▪ American athlete

in full  Oscar Palmer Robertson  

born Nov. 24, 1938, Charlotte, Tenn., U.S.

      American basketball player who starred in both the collegiate and professional ranks and was considered one of the top players in the history of the game. As a player with the Cincinnati (Ohio) Royals of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1961–62, he averaged double figures in points (30.8), rebounds (12.5), and assists (11.4) per game, a feat unmatched by any other player.

      Robertson grew up in Indianapolis, Ind., where he led Crispus Attucks High School to two state championships. In 1956 he received an athletic scholarship to the University of Cincinnati and became the first African American to play basketball there. In three seasons of collegiate basketball, he averaged 33.8 points per game and helped the Cincinnati Bearcats twice reach the final four of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) basketball tournament. He set 14 NCAA records during his college days. In 1960 he won a gold medal in Rome as a member of the U.S. Olympic team.

      Robertson, known as the “Big O,” was the first selection of the 1960 NBA draft and earned Rookie of the Year honours that season with the Cincinnati Royals. Measuring 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) and weighing more than 200 lb (91 kg), Robertson was larger than most guards. He was able to use his size to gain position for scoring and rebounding. He was also a superior ball handler, leading the league in assists six times. He was named the NBA Most Valuable Player for the 1963–64 season, in which he averaged 31.4 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 11 assists per game.

      Robertson was traded in 1970 to the Milwaukee (Wis.) Bucks, where he teamed with Lew Alcindor (later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem)) and won the NBA title that season. Robertson retired from the NBA in 1974 with 26,710 career points (25.7 per game), 7,804 rebounds (7.5 average), and 9,887 assists (an NBA record at the time). He was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1979.

      After his playing days ended, Robertson pursued a career in business and from 1981 was chief executive officer of a Cincinnati-based chemical company.

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